Did Missouri's AG approve the ballot summary for initiative petition 2024-163, and what would it have described?

Plain-English summary

Missouri's Secretary of State sent the Attorney General a proposed ballot summary for initiative petition 2024-163. The proposal would have permitted one additional gambling boat license on a specified stretch of the Osage River, counted certain artificial water spaces near the 100 year base flood elevation as part of the prescribed location, and directed state revenue from the license to annual increases of teacher salaries. The AG approved the legal content and form of the proposed summary under § 116.334, RSMo.

That approval was about the words summarizing the proposal. The letter expressly said that the required review was neither an endorsement of the petition nor an opinion about its proponents' objectives. It did not say the proposed constitutional amendment had passed or that the additional license had been issued.

What this means for you

Voters and people tracking ballot proposals

The approved text showed how petition 2024-163 would have been described at this review stage. It identified the proposed gaming location and the proposed use of license revenue. The letter itself did not decide whether the policy was desirable.

Initiative sponsors and election officials

For this petition, the AG completed the statutory review of the Secretary's proposed summary statement and approved its legal content and form. The letter did not discuss signature sufficiency or ballot qualification.

Common questions

Q: Did the AG approve a new gambling boat license?
A: No. The AG approved a summary statement for a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed one additional license on part of the Osage River.

Q: Where would the license revenue have gone under this proposal? A: The summary said state revenues from issuing the license would be appropriated to annual increases of teacher salaries.

Q: Did approval mean the AG supported the initiative? A: No. The letter expressly said that the mandated review should not be taken as an endorsement of the petition or its objectives.

Q: Did this opinion decide whether the petition qualified for the ballot? A: No. It reviewed the proposed summary statement's legal content and form. It did not make a ballot qualification finding.

Background and statutory framework

§ 116.334, RSMo supplied the AG's review role for the proposed summary statement. The Secretary of State requested review on November 15, 2023; the AG's letter approved the text for petition 2024-163 on November 27. The underlying petition proposed an amendment to the Missouri Constitution. The opinion's effect was limited to this review of summary language.

Citations and references

• § 116.334, RSMo: statutory basis for review of the proposed summary statement.

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/432-2023.pdf

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ANDREW BAILEY
November 27, 2023
OPINION LETTER NO. 432-2023
The Honorable John R. Ashcroft
Missouri Secretary of State
James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Center
600 West Main Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Dear Secretary Ashcroft:
This opinion letter responds to your request dated November 15, 2023, for our review under § 116.334, RSMo of a proposed summary statement prepared for the petition submitted by Greta Bax, 2024-163. The proposed summary statement is as follows:

Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to:

• allow the Missouri Gaming Commission to issue one additional gambling boat license to operate on the portion of the Osage River from the Missouri River to the Bagnell Dam;
• require the prescribed location shall include artificial spaces that contain water and are within 500 feet of the 100-year base flood elevation as established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and
• require all state revenues derived from the issuance of the gambling boat license shall be appropriated solely for annual increases of teacher salaries? Pursuant to § 116.334, RSMo, we approve the legal content and form of the proposed statement. Because our review of the statement is mandated by statute, no action that we take with respect to such review should be construed as an endorsement of the petition, nor as the expression of any view regarding the objectives of its proponents. Very truly yours,

ANDREW BAILEY
Attorney General

OP-2023-424
Supreme Court Building
207 W. High Street
P.O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: (573) 751-3321
Fax: (573) 751-0774
www.ago.mo.gov